finding the right spots to bluff

There's always one aspect of poker that I've never been able to explain well. It's those situations that aren't black and white, and are simply described as 'spots'. It can be a spot to bluff, it can be a spot to value bet, but they are significant to bringing your game up a level. Last night I had a hand that was one of the clearest bluffing spots imaginable, and I can illustrate what a good bluffing spot is.

The game was a $10/$20 live NL cash game at the Commerce Casino. The table was generally playing passive, and this hand was no exception. There were 3 limpers, and I found 52hh in the big blind. I checked and the flop came out ks qh 5s. It checked to the button who bet out $80. I recognized right away that this flop most likely could not have hit anyone. Some players might look at this and just throw there hand away, but I know that this player would have raised the hands that hit this flop (meaning that the button is trying to represent a pair of kings, such as KJ, which he most likely would have raised preflop). With the players in early position checking, it's likely they don't have much either, and with me being in the big blind, I could have almost anything.

I check-raised to $260, which he though for a second and called. I didn't expect a call, and that gave me an idea of the types of hands he could have, which were almost all draws. JT, and flush draws are consistent with his preflop limp and bet/call on the flop. The turn came a 8d, and I bet $600. The button only had $1800 in his stack, so I bet an amount which would persuade him not to try to bluff me, but one that also wasn't giving him the correct odds to draw.

He mucked pretty quickly, which was what I expected. On the surface this hand might look dangerous and risky, but I believe that this was a very clear spot to run a bluff.

In looking for similar spots, you should look for bets where he most likely does not have a strong hand, and where you CAN have a strong hand. It's important that both clauses are met to truly run a pure bluff.